Modular Cabinet Assembly

ABSTRACT

A modular cabinet assembly has at least a first sub-cabinet and a second sub-cabinet. Each sub-cabinet includes a back board having at least two separate back board pieces that are pivotably connected to each other, a left side board pivotably connected to one of the at least two back board pieces, and a right side board pivotably connected to another of the at least two back board pieces. At least one shelf board having opposite ends is removably connected to the left side board and the right side board of either the first sub-cabinet or the second sub-cabinet. A first end board is connected to either an upper end of the first sub-cabinet or a lower end of the second sub-cabinet. A first connector removably connects the left side boards of the first and second sub-cabinets, and a second connector removably connects the right side boards of the first and second sub-cabinets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a cabinet assembly, and inparticular, to a modular cabinet assembly that can be assembled from aplurality of sub-cabinets.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A cabinet is usually large in size, so it is normally manufactured incomponent parts to facilitate cost-effective storage, packing andshipping. Existing cabinets usually have side boards, cabinet doors, aback board, a top board and a bottom board that are disassembled andthen stacked together, and only connected when needed. Most of thecabinets are usually in a shape of a cube having a height generally muchlarger than the left and right widths, and the left and right widthsgenerally larger than front and back widths, resulting in very largedifferences among the sizes of the components and accordingly not beingconducive to packaging, storage and transportation. The size of thecabinet after being disassembled and stacked is at least the same asthat of the back board, so that the cabinet has a large occupied areaand is also not very convenient for carrying around. Moreover, theexisting cabinets require users to respectively assemble and fix thecomponents one by one before use, in which the assembly can be verycomplicated, time-consuming and also subject to error, so that thesecabinets are not convenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present inventionis to provide a cabinet which is not only convenient for storage,transportation and packaging, but can also be conveniently assembled orcarried around.

The present invention provides a modular cabinet assembly having atleast a first sub-cabinet and a second sub-cabinet. Each sub-cabinetincludes a back board having at least two separate back board piecesthat are pivotably connected to each other, a left side board pivotablyconnected to one of the at least two back board pieces, and a right sideboard pivotably connected to another of the at least two back boardpieces. At least one shelf board having opposite ends is removablyconnected to the left side board and the right side board of either thefirst sub-cabinet or the second sub-cabinet. A first end board isconnected to either an upper end of the first sub-cabinet or a lower endof the second sub-cabinet. A first connector removably connects the leftside boards of the first and second sub-cabinets, and a second connectorremovably connects the right side boards of the first and secondsub-cabinets.

The present invention provides a number of important benefits. The maincabinet is formed by connecting several sub-cabinets together from thetop down, so that the overall space occupied by the back board and theside boards after being disassembled can be effectively reduced.Meanwhile, the back board is formed by pivoting a left back board and aright back board together, so that the back board can be folded in halfduring disassembly, so as to further reduce the space occupied by thedisassembled cabinet so that the entire assembly is convenient forcarrying, storage, packing and transportation. In addition, the two sideboards are respectively pivoted on the left and right sides of the backboard, and all of the two side boards, the left back board and the rightback board can rotate about the pivot shafts thereof to be folded duringdisassembly and folding. During assembly, the two side boards, the leftback board and the right back board only need to be quickly unfolded andproperly fixed, thereby greatly efficient facilitating disassembly andassembly of the cabinet, making the cabinet easy to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the area A in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cabinet of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the area B in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the area C in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the area D in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a middle board and a hook of the cabinetof FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the area E in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of one of the sub-cabinets of thecabinet of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

With reference to FIGS. 1-9, a combination cabinet is provided,including a main cabinet which includes several sub-cabinets 10connected together from the top down. The sub-cabinets 10 include a backboard 11 and two side boards 12. The two side boards 12 are respectivelypivoted on the left and right sides of the back board 11 through a firstlongitudinal pivot shaft 21 of a piano hinge 23, and the back board 11includes a left back board 111 and a right back board 112 pivotedtogether through a second longitudinal pivot shaft 22 of a piano hinge24. See FIG. 9. The main cabinet is formed by connecting severalsub-cabinets 10 together from the top down, so that the overall area orspace occupied by the back board 11 and the side boards 12 after beingdisassembled can be effectively reduced. Meanwhile, the back board 11 isformed by pivoting a left back board 111 and a right back board 112together, so that the back board 11 can be folded in half duringdisassembly, to further reduce the area or space occupied by thedisassembled cabinet, so that the entire assembly is convenient forcarrying, storage, packaging and transportation. On the other hand, thetwo side boards 12 are respectively pivoted on the left and right sidesof the back board 11, during disassembly and folding, so that all of thetwo side boards 12, the left back board 111, and the right back board112, can pivot or rotate around the pivot shafts thereof to be folded.During assembly, the two side boards 12, the left back board 111 and theright back board 112 can be easily and simply unfolded and properlyfixed in place, thereby greatly facilitating disassembly and assembly ofthe cabinet.

In the present invention, the first pivot shaft 21 is a rotating shaftof a first piano hinge 23 having two connecting sheets that arerespectively fixed on an inner end wall of the back board 11 and along arear edge of a side board 12. In addition, the left and right side wallsof the back board 11 are respectively abutted to the inner end walls ofthe side boards 12. The second pivot shaft 22 is a rotating shaft of asecond piano hinge 24 and positioned between the right side wall of theleft back board 111 and the left side wall of the right back board 112.In this way, during folding, the two side boards 12, the left back board111 and the right back board 112 can be folded in an M shape, so thatthe structure on the inner wall can be prevented from being exposed, andso as to minimize bump damage to the internal structure of the cabinet,while maintaining an aesthetic appearance. During unfolding, therotating angles of the two side boards 12, the left back board 111 andthe right back board 112 can be limited by the surfaces of therespective boards 111, 112 and 12, so that it is convenient forunfolding and folding, and the structural strength of the cabinet canalso be improved.

The present invention further includes at least one transverse end board(e.g., boards 13 and 14 described below) mounted on the main cabinet,and a connecting board 15 that is adapted to be connected to an endboard is provided on the main cabinet. Each end board has an innersurface that is adapted to be abutted to the connecting board 15, and atleast one clamping hole 32 is formed on the connecting board 15. SeeFIG. 4. Each clamping hole 32 has a varying-shape cross-section with alarger end and a smaller end. A clamp 31 (which is adapted to be coupledto a corresponding clamping hole 32) is provided on the end board andincludes an elastic clamping portion 311 which is spaced with a distancefrom the edge of the end board. See FIG. 6. The clamping portion 311 andthe smaller end of the clamping hole 32 are longitudinally aligned, thenthe end board (e.g., 14 in FIG. 6) is clamped together with theconnecting board 15 to fix the end board to the main cabinet. The endboard may transversely slide relative to the connecting board 15, toenable the clamping portion 311 and the larger end of the clamping hole32 to be aligned, and the clamping portion 311 may longitudinally passthrough the larger end of the clamping hole 32. In this way, duringunfolding and assembly, the end boards can be aligned to be mounted onthe main cabinet, simply by aligning each clamping portion 311 on theend board and the larger end of the corresponding clamping hole 32 andthen longitudinally inserting the clamping portion 311 into the largerend of the clamping hole 32, and then by pushing the end board totransversely move relative to the main cabinet, to enable the clampingportions 311 to transversely move to the smaller end of thecorresponding clamping holes 32. During disassembly, only the reverseoperation is required, so that the end board is pushed to transverselymove relative to the main cabinet, to enable the clamping portions 311to transversely move from the smaller end of the corresponding clampingholes 32 to the larger end of the clamping holes 32 from which theclamping portions 311 can be removed.

Thus, when compared with a traditional screw fixing connection, there isno need to align and screw down multiple screws one by one, therebymaking it very convenient to disassemble and assemble the cabinet in atime-saving manner, while also minimizing the likelihood of assemblyerror. In this embodiment, there are two end boards which arerespectively a top board 13 mounted on the top of the main cabinet, anda bottom board 14 mounted at the bottom of the main cabinet. In actualuse, the number of connections and the mounting positions of the endboards can be flexibly adjusted as required. In addition, the locationsof the clamp 31 and clamping hole 32 can be reversed, with the clamp 31provided on the main cabinet, and the clamping hole 32 provided on theend board.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the larger end of the clamping hole 32 facesthe front of the main cabinet. The clamp 31 further includes at leastone connecting portion 312 configured to connect the clamping portion311 and the connecting board 15, and the connecting portion 312 can beabutted to the rear inner wall of the smaller end or the rear inner wallof the larger end of the clamping hole 32, so as to restrict thedistance to which the end board can slide backwards relative to theconnecting board 15, thereby facilitating positioning of the end boardduring assembly. The present invention further includes at least onelocking piece 16 which is detachably and fixedly connected to the maincabinet and the end board at the same time so as to restrict movementbetween the main cabinet and the end board to a transverse relativesliding therebetween, so that the end boards are prevented from becomingloose, disconnected and falling down, thereby improving the structuralstrength of the cabinet.

The present invention further includes at least one shelf board 41 whichis arranged inside the main cabinet and can be detachably suspended onthe main cabinet through several hooks 42. See FIGS. 2 and 7-8. Eachhook 42 has at least one first barb 421 opening downwardly and at leastone second barb 422 opening upwardly provided thereon, and in theembodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 7-8, a pair of first barbs 421 and asingle second barb 422 is provided. A plurality of pairs of alignedfirst hook holes 43 is formed on the opposing end surfaces 431 of eachside board 12, and the first barbs 421 are adapted to be hooked in onepair of first hook holes 43 to hang the hook 42 on the main cabinet. Asecond hook hole 44 is formed on the bottom of the shelf board 41, andthe second barb 422 is adapted to be hooked in the second hook hole 44to suspend the shelf board 41 on the hook 42. In this way, the shelfboard 41 can be manually disassembled and assembled without using anytools, and the structure is simple and easy to use. In this embodiment,the pairs of hook holes 43 are longitudinally spaced apart along thesurfaces 431, and the pairs of first barbs 421 can be hooked indifferent pairs of first hook holes 43 to change the height of the hooks42 hanging on the surface 431, in order to be able to flexibly andconveniently adjust the space configuration of the cabinet forconvenient use.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, one of the two longitudinallyadjacent side boards 12 is defined as a first side board 51, and theother one is defined as a second side board 52. The first side board 51and the second side board 52 are fixed together through a connectingangle board 53 having a longitudinal flange 57 fixedly connected to thefirst side board 51 through a plurality of first transverse screws (notshown) and tightly abutted against the side end wall of the first sideboard 51, and a transverse flange 58 (transverse to the longitudinalflange 57) of the connecting angle board 53 is abutted against a bottomwall of the second side board 52. The second side board 52 is positionedbetween the transverse flange 58 of the connecting angle board 53 andthe first side board 51. Positioning holes 521 are formed on the bottomwall of the second side board 52. At least one elastic pressing member54 is provided above the transverse flange 58 of the connecting angleboard 53 and the second side board 52, and the transverse flange 58 ofthe connecting angle board 53 presses the second side board 52 on thefirst side board 51 through the elastic pressing member 54. Each tail ofa plurality of second screws (not shown) is extended through a hole (notshown) in the pressing member 54, a correspondingly aligned hole 59 onthe transverse flange 58, through the correspondingly alignedpositioning hole 521, and then another hole 56 on the top of the firstside board 51. This connection structure is simple and easy forprocessing and assembling, and can also prevent the side boards 12 frombeing deformed due to excessive stress.

At least one baffle board 17, which is located at a joint of the twolongitudinally adjacent side boards 12 and fixedly connected to the sideboards 12 at the same time, is provided on an outer wall of the cabinet,and the baffle board 17 covers the outside corners of the side boards12, in order to be able to further improve the structural strength ofthe cabinet, to prevent sharp edges and corners of the side boards 12from scratching users, and to improve the safety performance of thecabinet. Moreover, in this embodiment, cabinet doors 61 are mounted onthe front end of the main cabinet and supporting feet 62 mounted at thebottom of the main cabinet, which are commonly used structures in thisart, so they are not described in detail.

The cabinet of the present invention can be assembled and disassembledin a quick and convenient manner. First, the back board 11 and sideboards 12 are unfolded for each sub-cabinet 10. Next, if the userdesires to stack multiple sub-cabinets 10, then the longitudinallyadjacent side boards 51 and 52 are connected together using theconnecting angle board 53 in the manner described above in connectionwith FIGS. 3 and 5. In addition, an optional bridging member 64 (seeFIG. 3) can be positioned between the bottom edge and the top edge ofadjacent back boards 11 to facilitate connection of the bottom edge andtop edge to the bridging member 64. This is done for as manysub-cabinets 10 are desired to be stacked to form the main cabinet.Third, the end boards 13 and 14 are connected in the manner describedabove in connection with FIGS. 4 and 6. Fourth, the shelf boards 41 areconnected in the manner described above in connection with FIGS. 2 and7-8. Finally, doors 61 are installed to the front of the main cabinet.Each door 61 can be sized and shaped to be about the same as the backboards 111 and 112 so that the doors 61 and back boards 111 and 112 canbe stacked together when packed and stored.

To disassemble the main cabinet, the doors 61 are first uninstalled andremoved. Next, the shelf boards 41 can be removed by disengaging thehooks 42 without the use of any tools. The end boards 13 and 14 are alsoremoved without the need to use any tools as the clamps 31 can beconveniently and quickly slid out of the corresponding clamping holes32. Finally, the longitudinally adjacent side boards 51 and 52 areseparated from the connecting angle board 53 by unscrewing the screwsthat extend through the aligned holes in the pressing member 54, thetransverse flange 58, and the first side board 51. The side boards 12and the back boards 111 and 112 can then be folded via their pivotshafts 21 and 22.

While the description above refers to particular embodiments of thepresent invention, it will be understood that many modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claimsare intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the truescope and spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A modular cabinet assembly, comprising: a firstsub-cabinet and a second sub-cabinet, each sub-cabinet comprising: aback board having at least two separate back board pieces that arepivotably connected to each other; a left side board pivotably connectedto one of the at least two back board pieces; and a right side boardpivotably connected to another of the at least two back board pieces; atleast one shelf board having opposite ends removably connected to theleft side board and the right side board of either the first sub-cabinetor the second sub-cabinet; a first end board connected to either anupper end of the first sub-cabinet or a lower end of the secondsub-cabinet; and a first connector that removably connects the left sideboards of the first and second sub-cabinets, and a second connector thatremovably connects the right side boards of the first and secondsub-cabinets.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, further including a second endboard connected to the other of the upper end of the first sub-cabinetor the lower end of the second sub-cabinet.
 3. The assembly of claim 1,further including a plurality of hooks that are adapted to removablyconnect the at least one shelf board to opposite ends of the left sideboard and the right side board, wherein each hook has at least one firstbarb opening downwardly and at least one second barb opening upwardly,further including: at least one hook hole formed on opposing endsurfaces of each of the left side board and the right side board, withthe at least one first barb adapted to be hooked in the at least onehook hole; and a second hook hole formed on a bottom of the at least oneshelf board, with the second barb adapted to be hooked in the secondhook hole.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each left side board andeach right side board has an upper end and a lower end, and a connectingboard provided at each upper end and each lower end of each left andright side board, further including a first connecting mechanismprovided at each connecting board, and a second connecting mechanismprovided adjacent an edge of the first end board, wherein the firstconnecting mechanism is a clamping hole that has a varying cross-sectionwith a larger end and a smaller end, and the second connecting mechanismis a clamp having an elastic clamping portion, with the clamp adapted tobe coupled to a corresponding clamping hole.
 5. The assembly of claim 1,wherein each left side board and each right side board has an upper endand a lower end, and a connecting board provided at each upper end andeach lower end of each left and right side board, further including afirst connecting mechanism provided at each connecting board, and asecond connecting mechanism provided adjacent an edge of the first endboard, wherein the second connecting mechanism is a clamping hole thathas a varying cross-section with a larger end and a smaller end, and thefirst connecting mechanism is a clamp having an elastic clampingportion, with the clamp adapted to be coupled to a correspondingclamping hole.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the first andsecond connectors is angled.
 7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein eachangled connector has a longitudinal flange, and a transverse flangeconnected to the longitudinal flange.
 8. A modular cabinet assembly,comprising: a back board having at least two separate back board piecesthat are pivotably connected to each other; a left side board pivotablyconnected to one of the at least two back board pieces; a right sideboard pivotably connected to another of the at least two back boardpieces; at least one shelf board having opposite ends removablyconnected to the left side board and the right side board; and a firstend board connected to either upper ends or lower ends of the left andright side boards.
 9. The assembly of claim 8, further including aplurality of hooks that are adapted to removably connect the at leastone shelf board to opposite ends of the left side board and the rightside board, wherein each hook has at least one first barb openingdownwardly and at least one second barb opening upwardly, furtherincluding: at least one hook hole formed on opposing end surfaces ofeach of the left side board and the right side board, with the at leastone first barb adapted to be hooked in the at least one hook hole; and asecond hook hole formed on a bottom of the at least one shelf board,with the second barb adapted to be hooked in the second hook hole.
 10. Amethod of assembling a modular cabinet assembly for storage, comprisingthe steps of: (a) providing a first sub-cabinet and a secondsub-cabinet, each sub-cabinet comprising: a back board having at leasttwo separate back board pieces that are pivotably connected to eachother; a left side board pivotably connected to one of the at least twoback board pieces; and a right side board pivotably connected to anotherof the at least two back board pieces: (b) opening the back board piecesand left and right side boards for the first and second sub-cabinets;(c) removably connecting upper ends of the left and right side boards ofthe first sub-cabinet to lower ends of the left and right side boards ofthe second sub-cabinet; (d) removably connecting a first end board toeither the upper ends of the left and right side boards of the secondsub-cabinet or the lower ends of the left and right side boards of thefirst sub-cabinet; (e) removably connecting opposite ends of at leastone shelf board to the left side board and the right side board ofeither the first sub-cabinet or the second sub-cabinet.